Book Title: Resolutions for an Arbitrary Holiday
Author: Nell Iris
Publisher: JMS Books
Cover Artist: Written Ink Designs
Release Date: December 30, 2020
Genre/s: Contemporary, holiday M/M Romance
Trope/s: Meet cute. Themes: Being true to yourself, New Year’s Eve, holiday
Length: 20 849 words
It is a standalone story.
Buy Links
JMS Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK
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Two strangers, a twisted ankle, an ancient stone ship, and a New Year’s Eve they’ll never forget
Blurb
Petter sneaks out of the New Year’s party he didn’t want to go to and treks to an old burial site he’s dying to see. Alone. Without telling anyone on a freezing December night. Without cell service…a huge problem when he twists his ankle.
Someone passes by Isak’s house on the path leasing to the stone ship. When the person never returns, Isak worries and sets off to investigate. What he finds is Petter, a pack of sparklers, and an instant connection.
Under a starry sky, they learn they have a lot in common. Will the attraction burn hot and fizzle out like the fireworks going off over their heads when they return to the real world? Or will it deepen, grow, and turn into something real? Something everlasting like the stone ship?
The sparklers have gone out, and Isak lights a couple new ones, handing me one. “So tell me about your resolution.”
“You’ll think it’s stupid.” I avert my gaze, looking out over the ocean. Far away a tiny pinprick of light moves across the water. Who’s out in a boat now?
“I won’t. Promise.”
I follow the little prick of light as it moves away, and it’s easier to talk about it when I’m not looking at him. “I’m going to be more true to who I really am.”
Gently, he replaces the burned-out sparkler in my hand with a new one. “Why would I think that’s stupid?”
“Because people do. I’m almost thirty, I’m supposed to have reached that stage already in my life.”
“People assume a lot of shit, don’t they?”
I take my eyes off the boat and allow myself to be mesmerized by the sparkler, by the tiny stars shooting out of it in every direction, by the crackling sound and its energy. It burns hot and fast, but it gives its all doing it. “Yeah,” I say.
“I’ll drink to your resolution. I’m sure it doesn’t mean much to you because we don’t know each other, but I think you’re doing the right thing. Now drink.”
When the sparkler sputters and dies out, I look at Isak. “It does mean something. Thank you”. I take an even smaller drink, but the taste still contaminates my tongue.
“What is this crap anyway?” Isak asks and turns the flashlight so he can read the label. Then he bursts out laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s non-alcoholic.”
“No!” I giggle. “No wonder it’s terrible.”
“No wonder.” He rattles the box of sparklers. “Another?”
“Yes, please.”
“After this, we should head down, though.”
I nod. “Sure.” The sparkler fires up and he hands it to me. “Tell me about your resolutions,” I say.
“I’m like you. I don’t do them either. But okay, for your sake, I’ll do it. I promise to not start smoking this year either.” He draws a cross over his heart in a very solemn manner, and another giggle escapes me.
“That’s not how it works.”
“No?”
“I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to promise to better yourself in some way. Not just continue something you’re already doing right.”
“Fuck that shit. Let’s make our own rules.”
“All right. I approve of this plan, too.”
“Okay.”
We watch the sparklers in silence, and when they sputter out and die, Isak holds up the bottle. “Want any more of this?”
“Ugh, no.”
He pours out the rest on the ground, collects the burned-out sparklers, and asks, “Ready to head down?”
No, I want to scream. I want to stay here all night and keep talking to someone who understands. But my ankle throbs, my ass is starting to hurt after sitting on the hard ground for so long, and I must admit I’m quickly turning into a human popsicle despite all my layers of clothing. It’s time to admit defeat. “Sure.”
Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. She’s a bona fide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies room), loves music (and singing along at the top of her voice but she’s no Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (Make it so). She loves words, bullet journals, poetry, wine, coffee-flavored kisses, and fika (a Swedish cultural thing involving coffee and pastry!)
Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.
Nell is a bisexual Swedish woman married to the love of her life, a proud mama of a grown daughter, and is approaching 50 faster than she’d like. She lives in the south of Sweden where she spends her days thinking up stories about people falling in love. After dreaming about being a writer for most of her life, she finally was in a place where she could pursue her dream and released her first book in 2017.
Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angsty, short over long, and quirky characters over alpha males.
Author Links
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Twitter: @nellirisauthor | Instagram: @nell_iris | Goodreads
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